As he said these words he puts out a hand to take hold of the bronze medal. People were completely stunned.
Zhang San took back his hand and said: “Hold on a minute!” He turned towards Bei Haishi and said: “this invitation of bronze medals to island of heroes is not for everyone, we can hand it only to the Bangzhu of a sect. Does your sect accept him as your Bangzhu?”
Bei Haishi and others could not believe that Shi Potian after seeing through various people's schemes and tricks is still willing to accept the invitation to save their lives. Although these people were crafty and fierce, but spontaneously everyone felt a sense of gratitude, and as if by prior agreement they bowed to salute to Shi Potian and said: “We are willing to present sect leadership to this chivalrous person, we will accept all his commands and won’t dare to disobeys.” These words were actually said with extreme sincerity.
Shi Potian returned the salute and said: “Does not dare, does not dare! I didn’t understand the matter earlier and spoke incorrectly, please do not blame me that.”
Bei Haishi and others said: “We don’t dare Bangzhu!”
Zhang San smiled and asked: “Brother, what is your surname?”
Shi Potian shook his head at loss and said: “I really did not know.” He looked at Min Rou and Shi Qing and saw them looking at him with same look as if nothing has changed, he couldn’t restrain himself from getting emotional and said: “I ......am surnamed Shi!”
Zhang San said: “Good! Shi Bangzhu, please accept the invitation from the island of heroes to eat “Eight meat gruel” on the eight day of last month.”
Shi Potian said: “I will visit both elder brothers on that day.”
Zhang San said: “Depending on your martial art, you deserve to eat that bowl of gruel however it’s a pity that you are actually the Bangzhu of clan of eternal happiness.”
Li Si shook his head and said: “it’s a pity, what a pity!”
They showed their disappointment to everyone as if saying that they are really disappointed that they didn’t get the opportunity to kill all the people of this sect. Bei Haishi and others lowered their head and did not dare to face the stare of Zhang San and Li Si.
Zhang San and Li Si looked at each other and nodded. Zhang San moved his right hand and threw the two bronze medals at Shi Potian. The bronze medals were pretty heavy, as he threw it towards him a swoosh sound was created but it moved in the air really slowly as if it is attached to a string. People again wondered about their extraordinary internal energy and skills, actually no one has seen or heard this kind of rare skills.
Everyone looked at Shi Potian. Min Rou called out suddenly: “Child, don’t accept it!”
Shi Potian said: “Mother, I have already consented.”
He extended both his hands and caught the bronze medals, turned towards Shi Qing and said: “Father ......No .....Master Shi.....When you met your fellow disciples from the Shan Qing temple, you insisted on accepting the bronze medal and going to the island of heroes despite perfectly knowing the danger......I have also learnt from you and will follow you.”
Li Si said: “Good! This is a heroic gesture; we did not swear brotherhood with you in vain. Brother, we spoke these words in front of everyone and people might think that we are impartial towards you but we cannot look after you especially in the island of heroes.”
Shi Potian said: “This is obvious.”
Li Si said: “Here we also has several bronze medals, we are inviting master Fan Yifei and master Lu Zhengping to the island of heroes to eat “Eight meat gruel”. Are you people accepting it?”
Fan Yifei looked at Gao San Niangzi and thought: “She has already seen the result after not accepting the bronze medals at first. At least one person of us is surviving. Anyway what’s the point of refusing now and then waiting in Guangdong for the total annihilation?”
He said immediately: “We are really indebted to be invited to the island of heroes by you two esteemed gentlemen, how can I surname Fan dare to forfeit? Also its still about two months for the last month, even if I refuse than still I get about two months to live….isn’t it.”
He stepped up and received the bronze medals from his hands. Lu Zhengping too followed him and accepted the bronze medals.
Zhang San and Li Si held their fist in the other hand to salute and said: “Everyone accepted the initiation, many thanks.”
He turned to Shi Potian and said: “Brother, we still had long journey, today we may not be able to drink with you together, and we will say our goodbye.”
Shi Potian said: “We won’t drink three bowls of wine that might be well but we can at least drink from the bottle gourds, is it fine elder brother?”
Zhang San said with a smile: “Ohh...No! This kind of liquor is very difficult to get and if we finish it than we will have empty bottle gourds, now what good will that do? Good, younger brother, elder brother, we will drink three bowls of wine.”
The people from clan of eternal happiness immediately brought wine for their Bangzhu and poured it in three bowls for Shi Potian, Zhang San and Li Si.
Shi Qing moved towards them and said in a loud voice: “We Shi Qing and Min Rou are people of low skills but still we will really appreciate if you can also invite us to the island of heroes to eat “eight meat gruel”.
Zhang San thought: “For more than 30 years, in the martial arts world whenever someone hears about the invitation from the island of heroes than he is most frightened, today some people are unexpectedly voluntarily accepting the invitation, there is a first time for everything.”
He said: “Master and madam Shi, I am really sorry. You two are from the Shan Qing sect and we have already invited the sect leader so we can’t invite you separately, we can’t even invite old master Yang Guang.”
Bai Wanjian asked: “you two still have a long journey to make, whether ......Whether you are going towards the Ling Xiao city?”
Zhang San said: “Master Bai predicts with great accuracy, we two people were just about to go to visit your father old Hero Master Bai.”
The color left Bai Wanjian’s face immediately; he started to speak but hesitated, and after half a day, said: “Good.”
Zhang San said with a smile: “Hero Bai, if you go quickly than maybe you will even have the opportunity to say Goodbye….ha haha haha!!”
He said his hand the two people turn around and slowly moved out.
Gao San Niangzi scolded: “these turtles …!” She again moved her left hand moved and she threw four short knives at the two people from behind. She knew perfectly well it will be really difficult to wound these two people, but in her heart, she was too angry and resentful towards them so she threw those knives.
She saw that these two knives almost reached their back and they were not conscious that they have been attacked.
As soon as Shi Potian saw it he called out: “Two elder brothers, be careful!”
They heard his voice both of them moved forward with amazing speed and the short knives moved outside the main gate and disappeared without a trace.
These short knives were special projectile weapons which when shot by hand gains enormous speed but the way these two people moved, they were faster than these projectiles and people were again shocked to see their skills and they looked at each other as if they had just seen a ghost and demon.
Gao San Niangzi still scolded: “turtles......”, and said many abusive words but her voice was really low.
Shi ZhongYu took the hand of Dingdang and tried to slip through this gathering but as Gao San Niangzi threw her knives, everyone saw unconsciously towards the main gate and saw them leaving.
Bai Wanjian shouted fiercely: “Halt!”
He turned towards Shi Qing and said: “Master Shi, you confessed about your son sometimes back!”
Shi Qing said: “I have lived my life but now having such son ….what words can I say? Master Bai, we husband and wife will take our son to Ling Xiao city ourselves and he will face the punishment from old Master Bai.”
Bai Wanjian and Snow Mountain disciples were all surprised. They thought that earlier these were ready to rescue their false son but now when they have met their real son then they have in fact consented to take him to the Ling Xiao city. Are they planning to cheat?
Min Rou looked at her husband; Shi Qing too looked at her. She looked really sad and mournful and he couldn’t endure to look at her again. He had already decided and didn’t want to have a second thought about this matter. He thought: “Originally we thought that our son is involved in some conspiracy and framed by these people from clan of eternal happiness and we will come and try to save him from this disaster, such moral behavior, oh!”
These two people met Shi Potian then he was recovering from that sickness. His memory wasn’t great and his speech too was also ridiculously childish but his instincts were sincere and innocent. As they spent more time together they understood that he really has a good heart and really liked him. Min Rou went ecstatic to meet her son. Shi Potian didn’t have much understanding of worldly affairs; she thought that this child was the same one who left them years ago. Unexpectedly when the real Shi Zhong Yu appeared, although the appearance was similar, his behavior was actually completely different. He was crafty and timid and they were really ashamed of him.
Min Rou was really disappointed with her son but still he was their own child, how could have she just leave her. She called out: “Son, come here!”
Shi Zhong Yu came near her, smiled and said: “Mother, I have met you after so many years, I really missed you. Mother, you are looking more and younger as you grow older, if anybody see you with me then they will think that you are my elder sister, not my biological mother.”
Min Rou showed a faint smile but in her heart she thought: “This child is really glib.” But she smiled to avoid showing her real emotions.
Shi Zhong Yu said: “Mother, several years back I once found a pair of blue jade bracelet, I always keep it me and thought that the moment I will meet you, I will gift you those.” As he said these words he pulled out a pair of jade bracelet and a setting a pearl head ornament. He gave the jade bracelets to his mother and turned towards Dingdang and gave the pearl ornament to Dingdang.
Min Rou liked that jewelry a lot. It was really attractive but she understood that his son was a lecherous person and he carries these kinds of expensive gifts to lure girls and whenever he sees beautiful women than he will take out a present to win favor.
Shi Zhong Yu turned around and inserted the pearl head ornament on Dingdang’s hair, smiled and said in a low voice: “These hairs deserves ornaments ten times better but at present I don’t have anything else so you have to put up with it for the time being.”
Dingdang felt really happy and said in a low voice: “Elder brothers Shi, you always say these words.”
She put out her hands and gently stroked the pearl ornament and looked towards Shi Zhong Yu.
Bei Haishi coughed several times and said: “Old hero Yang Guang, Master Shi, Madam Min Rou, numerous heroes from Guangdong and Snow mountain sect, there was all sorts of misunderstanding and acrimony among us. Let’s drink wine and leave all these words and feuds behind.”
But Shi Qing couple, Bai Wanjian, Fan Yifei, and everyone else each have their your concerns. They thought: “The disaster has just left your doors and you want to make merry, who is in the mood to drink your wine at this point of time?”
Bai Wanjian first said: “The two envoys of Island of heroes have just left for the Ling Xiao city, we must hurry back immediately. Master Bei, we apologize to decline your offer.”
Shi Qing said: “We three people must also go together with the Snow mountain sect people.”
Fan Yifei too said his goodbye and said that he must return Guangdong early, however he didn’t say it directly but people understood that they want to hurry back and take care of their sect matters before going to island of heroes.
The group said goodbye immediately to everyone. The face of Shi Potian turned pale as the visitors prepared to leave. He felt really miserable in his heart. He thought: “I told them earlier that they are making a mistake, I told to Dingdang, Master Shi, and Madam Min Rou, now I everyone is leaving. Suddenly it looks I am again alone in this world, yesterday I had a mother and father but now no one wants me, Dingdang doesn’t wants me, Grandma Shi doesn’t want me, A’Xiu doesn’t want me!”
Fan Yifei came to him and expressed his gratitude again and again.
Bai Wanjian said: “Shi Bangzhu, we have offended you several times, I don’t deserve it but still I request you to forgive me. Shi Bangzhu, you are a real chivalrous person, you helped us on the Azure mist island to fight against those evils. This time we are going but if we keep our life then we will come back and will become friends in the future”
Shi Potian said yes but in his heart he wanted to cry out aloud.
When Shi couple came to say their good bye, Shi Potian saw them with extreme sadness and melancholy. Min Rou saw him and felt really bitter in her heart. She wanted to say to him that they want them to accept him as their adopted son but then she thought that he is now the Bangzhu of a reputed sect of the area south of Yangtze River. It wouldn’t be appropriate to say these words so she said: “Shi Bangzhu, earlier when we met, we husband and wife had mistaken you and really disrespected you, I only hope ......Only hope that we will be in good terms even after we say goodbye.”
Shi Potian said: “Yes, yes!” He gazed as people departed. He kept on staring until the image of last person sublimated in the horizon.
Bei Haishi was ashamed and also extremely grateful. He and other people from the group didn’t manage to say anything to Shi Potian as they thought that he has accepted the bronze medals now and his last time is not that far. No one dare to speak in front of him and gave him his space. They thought that if the leader has the temperament to send himself to death for good of everyone then what else can one want?
End of chapter – 15